Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country Presents Udder Invasion: A Barn Burner Halloween Show In Milwaukee

Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country staged their Udder Invasion: A Barn Burner Halloween show at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall Ballroom. Guitarist Daniel Donato and his bandmates played the roles of The McDernald Brothers, whose mythical Harmony Farm in Tennessee was the setting for the festivities, which were interrupted by alien invaders.

Dressed in matching tye-died overalls and checkered flannel shirts, Donato, keyboardist/guitarist Nathan “Sugar Leg” Aronowitz, bassist Will “Mustang” McGee and drummer Will “Bronco” Clark took the stage while the audience was introduced to the history of the McDernalds and Harmony Farm.

A rocking take on the nursery rhyme “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” – altered to be “Old McDernald” – got the first set underway. The opener was the first in a crop of new covers planted in the setlist across both set one and set two.

The first half saw theme-appropriate takes on “Maggie’s Farm” by Bob Dylan and the Rick Skaggs-popularized “Country Boy.” Donato pulled out Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Snake Farm” for its second performance and wrapped the set by wrapping “Weathervanes” around Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”

Harmony Farms’ first alien invasion interruption occurred in the middle of the first set. The story of the visitors from outer space continued to unfold at various points throughout the rest of the concert.

Set two began with the McDernald Brothers fighting the aliens before laying out debuts of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “It Came out of the Sky” and Joe Diffie’s “John Deere Green.” Jake Knoll, portraying an alien farmer named Hank Junior Senior Jr., came out to sing The Muppets/Kermit The Frog favorite “Being Green” and conduct a costume contest among audience members.

Sugar Leg sang lead on the band’s first attempts at Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” and AC/DC’s “Back In Black.” Bronco was the lead vocalist for “The Boppin’ Martian.”

Also landing in the setlist for the first time were Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage,” Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn On Your Love Light” and John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” Fiddler Ernest Brusubardis emerged for “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” and stuck around for the set-closing “The Gold Rush.”

A final cover premiere capped the concert with Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land” filling the encore slot.

Watch an on-demand replay of last night’s nugs livestream of Donato’s Udder Invasion: A Barn Burner Halloween show. View a preview of the livestream and montage of the concert below:

Setlist (via DanielBase)

Set One: Old MacDonald Had a Farm (FTP) [2], Half Moon Night, Maggie’s Farm (FTP), Cosmic Country Gardens, Lose Your Mind, Country Boy (FTP), Snake Farm >, Weathervane >, War Pigs > [3], Weathervane (Reprise)

Set Two: It Came out of the Sky (FTP), John Deere Green (FTP), Bein’ Green (FTP) [4], Prairie Spin, Fire (FTP) [5], Back In Black (FTP) [6], Brain Damage (FTP), The Boppin’ Martian (FTP) [7], Tell Me I’m A Lover [8], Turn On Your Love Light (FTP), Blue (Da Ba Dee) > [7], Dance In The Desert [9], Thank God I’m a Country Boy (FTP) > [10], The Gold Rush [10][11]

Encore: Promised Land (FTP) [10][12]

Notes:

• [1] – Daniel Playing The Redwood DGN Guitar (Show)
• [2] – Swapped MacDonald With McDernald (Song)
• [3] – Will McGee On Lead Vocals (Song)
• [4] – Jake Knoll On Lead Vocals (Song)
• [5] – Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals And Guitar (Song)
• [6] – Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals (Song)
• [7] – Will Clark On Lead Vocals (Song)
• [8] – Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals, Guitar, And Keys (Song)
• [9] – Nathan Aronowitz On Guitar And Keys (Song)
• [10] – Ernest Brusubarbis On Fiddle (Song)
• [11] – Beatbox Break From Full Band (Song)
• [12] – Daniel Playing The Cosmic Cheese Wedge Guitar That Was Raffled At The Show (Song)